Template
The AI governance board memo
Boards ask for “the AI number”. This memo replaces that with four things a board can act on, and fits on one side.
Section 1 — What is running
A count, not a list. How many AI use cases are live, how many have a named accountable owner, and the gap between those two numbers. The gap is the finding.
Section 2 — What could go wrong
Two tiers, by consequence rather than by technology: use cases where a wrong output inconveniences someone, and use cases where a wrong output harms someone. Name the second tier individually.
Section 3 — What is already controlled
The controls that exist today, stated plainly, including the ones that are manual. A board that discovers later that a control was aspirational will not trust the next memo.
Section 4 — The decision you are asking for
One ask, with a number and a date. Not “continued support”.
How to use it
Copy the headings, delete the guidance, and fill each section with your own numbers. If a section is empty, that is the finding — write “not known” rather than removing the heading, because the gap is the most useful line in the document.
Pressure-test it before you send it.
Bring the draft to a table of eight peers who have written the same document.